ALUMNI REVIEW Spring 2019
University of North Dakota Alumni Association
W HE N IN S PIR AT ION
STRIKES Curiosity sparks aha moment for UND alumna Kathryn Uhrich, ’86.
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Photo by: Carrie Rosema
THE DEAN
Kathryn Uhrich is currently the dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. Photo by Carrie Rosema
Kathryn Uhrich, ’86, did not shout “Eureka!” or even utter an “Aha” when the inspiration for one of her most well-known discoveries came to her. She couldn’t, as she was in the middle of teaching a class in Organic Chemistry to a room full of undergraduates at Rutgers University. “It hit me in class,” says Uhrich. “I was lecturing and I actually had to take a second to look away from the classroom and thought, ‘Oh my God, this is a great idea! How come I haven’t seen this before?’” While discussing how the students would soon be making aspirin in the lab, Uhrich was struck by the idea to make a polymerized aspirin that could take many forms that regular aspirin can’t. Uhrich says she took a deep breath, wrote down a few quick notes, then turned around and finished her lecture. “Everybody has these unique wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night aha experiences — "I figured it out!” It was exactly one of those things for me; it just happened to be in front of 300 students.” Uhrich says the idea was simple, but her research showed no one else had already come up with it. So she shared her concept with an undergraduate researcher and within a few weeks, the student had successfully created the first polymerized aspirin.
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Undergrad Research It’s appropriate that Uhrich would turn to an undergrad to help with her research project since she received similar research opportunities as an undergraduate at the University of North Dakota in the mid-’80s. While studying Chemistry at UND, Uhrich worked at the Energy and Environmental Research Center studying the condensate produced by coal gasifiers. She says it was expected that she would not only collect and study the condensate samples, but also present her findings. She wasn’t happy about that at the time, but says those expectations turned out to be a blessing. “They forced me to do it, and that helped me get visibility and to get confidence.” Uhrich’s interest in research was piqued even earlier when, as a junior at Grand Forks Central High School, she took the advice of her Chemistry teacher and applied for a job at the Human Nutrition Research Center. For two summers before enrolling at UND, Uhrich helped with animal diet research where she realized that her curious nature was an asset. “I'd always been a curious kid. Asking questions is what science is all about and I just really got hooked. It just gave me a high level of comfort going into college and getting a degree in science.”
Researchers at the lab took notice of Uhrich’s intellectual curiosity and encouraged her to go to college. Uhrich says it was not a given that she would pursue a degree — neither of her parents had attended college — so the mentoring she received was “really critical” to her decision to enroll. It turned out to be the best decision she could make as Uhrich says she loved her UND experience from her science fiction writing class to chemistry and math classes. “Looking back, I had a really great experience. I had an opportunity to do research at a couple different institutions. I had faculty in the Chemistry Department that supported it. All that stuff gives you confidence. It gives you an experience that I really didn't appreciate the importance of until years later.” Upon graduating after three-and-a-half years at UND in 1986, Uhrich received one more benefit from her campus experience: mentors who pushed her to apply to graduate school; going so far as to help her fill out and pay for her applications. Without that push, Uhrich says, she’s not sure she would have ended up in graduate school at one of the top schools in the country, Cornell University in upstate New York.
Patents Pending It was there that she earned a master’s and PhD in Organic Chemistry. It was also the place where she learned from the faculty about the importance of seeking patents for research work; she filed for her first patent while still a graduate student. Uhrich’s experiences continued to reinforce that patent paradigm as she went from graduate school to postdoctoral research fellowships at Bell Laboratories and then the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, she worked under Robert Langer, who is world-renowned for his work in biotechnology, and Cato Laurencin, a pioneer in the field of regenerative engineering. All along the way, Uhrich was drawn to translational science, the application of basic science to enhance human health and well-being. “It’s kind of the ‘North Dakota way,’” Uhrich says. “It’s great to know what the secrets of the universe are, but how does that translate into helping humanity? I’m drawn to the understanding of the basic principles and how to implement them.” Following her fellowship research, Uhrich landed at Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1995. It was here, while teaching 300 undergraduate students, that the idea for polymerized aspirin struck her. Regular aspirin breaks down quite quickly into salicylic acid which the liver then works to remove from the body. It’s the reason you must dose every four to six hours when taking aspirin for a headache. But Dr. Uhrich’s PolyAspirin uses polymers to create aspirin “beads” that are released slowly. These beads can be attached to surgical implants like a stent so that the anti-inflammation properties of aspirin aid the healing process at the source.
Dr. Carmen Scholz, a University of Alabama at Huntsville professor of chemistry, said in advance of a lecture by Uhrich on campus recently, “With this trailblazing research, Dr. Uhrich single-handedly created a new branch of polymer chemistry: polymerized drugs.” Uhrich filed the first patent for PolyAspirin in 1997. She then set up a company, Polymerix Corporation, to create biodegradable delivery systems for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and coatings for surgical implants.
From Idea to Implementation Uhrich has amassed nearly 100 patents and patent applications and has authored more than 180 peer-reviewed papers during her distinguished career. But even the most accomplished researcher can have a crisis of doubt when their theories become reality. Uhrich remembers having one when the first stent made with polymerized aspirin was implanted in a person in 2008. The surgery was done in Sao Paul, Brazil, and, in the hours before, Uhrich admits to “totally freaking out” about the possibility that the stent would do harm rather than good. Her husband, Jeff Holmes, had to remind her that the science was solid and years of work had gone into making sure it was safe. “It’s just the intensity of the feeling of flipping from “This is totally freaking awesome” to “Oh my God, this is going in somebody’s heart. What if it kills them?” It was a remarkable moment.” The patient, it should be noted, is still alive to this day.
College Administration These days, Uhrich is exploring a new career path in higher education administration. For the last three years, she has been the dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. The college educates more than seven thousand undergrad and graduate students. “I wanted to work with faculty and administrators and develop others the way that I had been developed,” says Uhrich of her decision to concentrate on administration. Uhrich hasn’t totally abandoned research, though. In fact, she says she’s recently had “one of the best ideas I’ve ever had in my life.” But she’s having trouble getting anybody interested in it. She says it just goes to show that a good idea doesn’t mean it’s good in practice. “Ideas are cheap,” she says with a laugh. “Implementation is the hard part.” Uhrich has had more success than failure, though, and she hasn’t forgotten those who helped her along the way. It’s the reason she has been so passionate about mentoring undergraduates in her research labs and why she contributes to scholarship funds at Central High School and the University of North Dakota. “I had people in my life who saw in me what I couldn’t see in myself and without them I wouldn’t be where I am today.” /// — By Milo Smith
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TA NNE R
STECHMANN, ’16 Major: Fisheries and Wildlife Biology Research topic: Influences of nest attendance patterns in common eiders
Why did you get involved in undergraduate research? I am currently a graduate student studying influences of nest attendance patterns in common eiders, a type of duck found in the Arctic. I also did this research in my undergrad. I always had an interest in research and considered pursuing my education further. I decided to get involved with research to gain a better understanding if graduate school was something I wanted to do.
How did doing undergraduate research enhance your academic experience at UND? Doing research was really the highlight of my undergrad. I was able to gain skills and knowledge that I would not have gained in the classroom. It also gave me the opportunities to present my work at state and national conferences where I met other students and professionals. It also gave me the opportunity to meet and develop relationships with other students that were also doing research.
What advice would you have for other students interested in research? My advice to students who want to pursue research is to do it. If you have any interest in research give it a try. Contact a professor whose research you are interested in and talk to them about working in their lab. Doing undergraduate research can open many doors for you.
Why is student research important? Undergraduate research is extremely important because it allows students to gain essential skills needed for graduate school or jobs. It allows students to gain this experience in an environment where they can be mentored and challenged all while giving the student the freedom to express their ideas on a specific topic. It is also important for professors. It gives them extra hands to complete research, and it allows them to train the next generation of scientists. /// UNDalumni.org
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F E ATURE
RO A D T O ‘R1’
BROADENING RESEARCH IMPACT Quest for highest-research-activity classification helps students, communities and economy UND is looking for a higher class of company – but not just to show off. Anchored firmly in the One UND Strategic Plan is Goal No. 4: “to enhance discovery at a level consistent with most research-intensive universities.” It alludes to universities and institutions often dubbed “Carnegie R1,” or doctoral universities with the “highest research activity.” UND, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, the University of South Dakota and myriad like-sized institutions around the country are considered “Carnegie R2,” a step below. The R1s of the world include Harvard, Yale, MIT and more regional members such as the Universities of Minnesota and Michigan.
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But it also includes non-urban centers not readily known for world-class research such as the University of Delaware, Hawaii, West Virginia, Nebraska-Lincoln and New Mexico.
Even beyond that, though, UND would like to stay on a trajectory toward Carnegie R1 status — not for the sake of doing it, but because it’s the right thing to do.
By capitalizing on its unique geographical setting, the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, for example, is recognized as a “land-, seaand space-grant” institution, raking in more than $317 million in extramural research expenditures. That puts Hawaii in the middle of the road among its R1 peers.
“It’s not that we just want to be R1,” said Grant McGimpsey, recently retired UND vice president for research and economic development. “Rather, we want to be doing things that R1 institutions do. They have research enterprises that are incredibly impactful on their students and on the community and on the economy around them.”
Still, the university uses its research influence to diversify the Aloha State’s economy beyond tourism and its role as a national defense hub. By comparison, UND’s most recently reported research expenditures were about $102 million. The University wants to increase that number to $120 million by 2022.
Student impact That’s why a joint proposal from North Dakota’s two research universities — to significantly increase what the state invests in research — is so important. The proposal, if funded, would mean an additional $25 million per year for both over the next biennium.
I G N IT E T HE FUT UR E
MENTOR
Tracy Kovar, ’99, is the woman behind Jacqueline Wells, ’19. Tracy's mentorship helped Jacqueline grow as a person and a teammate. Photo by Sam Melquist
T HE WOME N BE HIND
THE WOMEN
Former student-athletes give back through their time, talent and treasure Behind every successful woman, there are countless women who paved the way before her. For the 172 female student-athletes at the University of North Dakota, the story is no different. In 1973, Jill (Keena) Cholewa set out to start a women’s volleyball team at UND. “The Athletics Director told me in order to have a volleyball team we would need a minimum of eight women,” Jill reminisced. “We had six, so I ran through Fulton Hall, all four floors, asking if anyone wanted to play volleyball for UND. We did it!” From humble beginnings of hand-me-down jerseys, being the last team to practice at the Hyslop, taking school buses to matches as far away as Nebraska and Iowa, and no scholarship money, the UND Women’s Volleyball team has evolved into a top-contender in their conference, boasting NCAA Division I Tournament appearances in 2016 and 2017. They’ve won six conference championships and two
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players have been named NCAA Division I All-Americans. Volleyball isn’t the only women’s sport at UND that’s seen tremendous success. In 2014, the Women’s Basketball team was the first female UND team to advance to NCAA Division I postseason play, and they hold three Division II national championships. Just this year, the first two female track athletes in school history qualified for the NCAA Division I Indoor Championship. Women’s Track also boasts two individual national DII champions and 73 Division II AllAmericans. Women’s Golf has two Division II conference titles and qualified for the NCAA tournament three times. Women’s Tennis has three Division II conference titles and NCAA appearances. And finally, the female Cross Country team has had 17 Division II All-Americans, five conference titles, and 12 Division II NCAA appearances.
1998
Karin Becker, ’98, ’15, is the Director of Reading, Learning, and Communications at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Grant Meyer, ’98, ’99, is the CEO for Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services based in Grand Forks.
1999
Joel Bird, ’99, was named Best-in-State Wealth Advisors of 2018 by Forbes. Bird is a financial advisor with Ameriprise in Bismarck, N.D.
2000s Remember when, in 2006, the UND College of Nursing welcomed its first three graduates from its PH.D. in Nursing program?
2000
Damon Feltman, ’00, is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander 14th Air Force in Fort Worth, Texas. Matthew Hager, ’00, serves as the Lieutenant Colonel for the United States Marine Corps in Camp Pendleton, Calif.
2001
Phillip Goter, ’01, ’05, is the principal for Fish & Richardson’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group in Minneapolis.
2002
Dr. Michael LeBeau, ’02, is the President of Sanford Bismarck (N.D.)
2003
Michelle Eslinger-Schneider, ’03, is the North Dakota Head Start Program Director. Lisa Kudelka, ’03, is the interim Chief Police Officer for the State of North Dakota.
Seth Syverson, ’03, ’04, is the general manager for Northern Plains Electric in Jamestown, N.D.
2004
Kristin (Farbo) Syverson, ’04, is the Chief Financial Officer of the Anne Carlsen Center in Jamestown, N.D.
2005
Nathan Fiala, ’05, ’07, is a factory engineer at American Crystal Sugar in East Grand Forks. Kara (Fuchs) Gansmann, ’05, ’07, is a partner attorney of Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP in Wilmington, N.C. Mary (Perrizo) Klabo, ’05, is a New Home Specialist with Heritage Homes in Fargo.
Carrie (Martin) Orn, ’05, received the New Dentist of the Year Award from the North Dakota Dental Association. Orn owns Orn Family Dentistry in Jamestown, N.D.
2006
Benjamin Swanholm, ’06, is an Assistant Crime Laboratory Administrator with the Phoenix Police Department Laboratory Services Bureau.
2007
Charlotte Ferrel, ’07, is the director of Northwest Human Services in Williston, N.D. Jessica (Clausen) Mertz, ’07, is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker for Chrysalis Behavioral Health Services in Fargo.
2008
Amber (Flickinger) Flynn, ’08, ’10, was named Top Expansion Partner for Hatch Realty, Grand Forks.
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